Storage building



July 26, H. HORNBOSTEL ET AL STORAGE BUILDING Filed June 1925 INVENTOR WITNE$SES Patented July 26, 1927. I

. 1,637,110 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY HORNBOSTEL AND WILLIAM J'- STRASSBUBGEB, 0F PITTSBURGH PENN- SYLVANIA.

STORAGE BUILDING.

Application filed June 18, 1925. Serial No. 36,768.

This invention relates to the structure of storage buildings and particularly to buildings applicable for storing motor vehicles, and, specifically, to that type of such buildings in which groups of relatively staggered floors are connected by ramps.

The object of the invention is to provide a buildin of the character described which will provlde for the storage of a maximum number of motor vehicles within the cubical space of the building, and which is so constructed that any number of vehicles may simultaneously travel to and from their storage spaces on any of the several floors, in ascending and descending streams moving in the same direction, so that there can be no interference between ascending and descending vehicles, and this notwithstanding that ascending and descending streams of vehicles may move simultaneously over the same'floor spaces or driveways. A further object is to provide a building of this character in which the storage floors can be indefinitely multiplied vertically, either upwardly or downwardly, from the street level.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of the preferred arrangement of building embodying our invention, on the line I-I, Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line II-II, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section, on the line III-III, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of a portion of a floor showing the entrance and exit for the vehicles.

1 indicates the outer walls of the storage space, which may be either the external walls of a building, or walls inside of a lar r building. When they are. external wa ls, they are provided with window openings 2, and at the street level are provided with an entrance opening 3, and an exit opening 4, which entrance and exit openings may be either at one corner of the building, as shown 1n Fig. 4, or anywhere along the side of the building.

The space within the walls 1 is divided vertically midway of its width, such as alon the line 5, Fig. 1. There are two series 0 floors,-the series 6 on one side of the dividing plane 5 being spaced equal distances one from the other and from the ground or bottom floor; while the series 7 on the opplanes between the planes of the floors 6,

posite side of the dividing plane 5, lie in the lowermost floor 7 lying in a plane between the bottom or ground floor and the lowermost floor 6. The floors 7, however, are not exactly midway between the floors 6, being spaced a less distance from the next adjacent higher floor 6 than from the next adjacent lower floor 6, for a purpose hereinafter described.

ly around the central longitudinal portion of thebuilding; in other words, entirely around the centrally parked cars 10.

At each end of the building are a pair of concentrib curved ramps connecting each one of the floors of either series 6 or 7 with the next higher and the next lower floor of the other series. For instance, from the driveway 9 at the upper portion of Fig. 1, which, say, represents oneof the floors 6, a ramp 12 leads downwardly to the next adjacent lower floor 7- while another ramp 13 leads upwardly to the next adjacent higher floor 7; whereas at the opposite end of the building a ramp 1 1 leads from floor 7 upwardly to the next adjacent higher floor 6, While ramp 15leads downwardly to the next adjacent lower floor 6.

With this arrangement, whether incoming or outgoing, all the vehicles travel in the same direct-ion. Suppose for instance two vehicles are moving along on the driveway 9 on floor 6 in the direction of-the arrows 16 and 17 shown on Fig. 1, and that one of these cars is going down and the other is going up. The car going down will take the ramp 12 on the-left hand end, continue on the driveway 9 on the next lower floor 7, v

ly no matter how many vehicles are entering or leaving, some going to higher levels and some to lowerlevels, there can be no interference because all vehicles travel in the same direction, so while at times up-going and down-goingvehicles are on the same driveway on a given floor, there nevertheless can be no interference or crossing of paths because said vehicles merely follow one after the other and each takes its appropriate ramp as it approaches the end of the floor.

Also at the entrance and exit of the building there can be no interference because, as shown in Fig. 4, the entering cars keep to the right, while the cars coming out, by also keeping to the right pass out through the exit without interfering with the incoming cars.

The building described can be of any size, depending on the ground space available or other conditions. The two longitudinal driveways with pairs of connecting ram s at their ends can be located in an part 0? the floor area, the balance of the cor area being available as storage spaces. The two rams at each end are preferabl curved and concentric. Consequently wit the same grade or pitch the outer one will climb to a greater height than the inner one. It is for this reason that the floors of the series 7 are not exactly midway between the floors of the series 6, each being closer to the floor 6 immediately above the same than to the floor 6 immediately below the same. It will be noted that the outside ramp is the upgoing ramp at one end and the downgoing ramp on t e other end of the building. Consequently the pitches or grades of all ramps can be the same. It is of course not absolutely necessary to have exactly the same grades for the two ramps of each pair, but this is preferable and is possible by merely spacing the floors of the two series such' distances apart that with equal inclinations of the inner and outer ramps the outer ramp will climb a distance equal to the larger fioor spacing and the inner ramp will climb a distance equal a) the smaller floor spacing. Having the ramps curved and concentric has the advanta e that a car can enter a ramp in a substantia ly straight line and thus dissense with the necessity of space on the oor in which to swing the car into the ramp, as is required when the ramps are strai htf; Hence the drivewa s on the floors can e limited in width to t at of a single car, and, further, can be located a minimum distance from the central plane of the building. In fact this distance can be less than the length of a car, the necessary space being secured b placing the cars diagonally as shown an allowing their front ends to project underneath the opposite next higher floor. As a result the over-all width of the building can be reduced to a minimum, or

otherwise stated, the maximum storage or parking space is secured for any given dimension of building.

The plan described enables the building to be constructed of any height; that is to say, there can be any number of floors arranged one above the other, without in any way increasing the difiiculty of getting cars in and out at the same time. These several floors can all be arranged above the street level, or some can be arranged above the street level and some below the street level, or all of them can be below the street level. It makes absolutely no difference in what direction, up or down, the building is extended.

We claim:

1. A. multiple-story storage building for vehicles provided with a plurality of concentric interrupted spiral ways in spaced apart relation and relatively long intermediate levels connectin said ways to constitute runways for a sing e line of traffic between the cooperating terminals of said spiral ways, the run-ways connecting the opposite terminals of said spiral ways being 1n staggered relation, and having a zig-zag partltion wall extending longitudinally of said building.

2. A multiple-story storage building for vehicles provided with a plurality of concentric interrupted spiral ways in spaced apart relation, and run-ways common to both terminals of said spiral ways provided intermediate the cooperating terminals of said spiral ways, said run-ways being relatively staggered and adapted to accommodate a single line of vehicle trafiie operating in one direction between the cooperating terminals of said spiral ways, and having a zi -zag partition wall extending longitudinal y of said buildin 3. A buil ing structure comprising out/er walls, a series of superposed floors overlying the area within said walls on one side of a longitudinal vertical plane, a second series of superposed floors lying in planes intermediate the planes of the rst series of floors and overlying the area on the opposite side of said longitudinal vertical plane, a vertical series of similar pairs of ramps at each end of the enclosed area, one ramp of each pair connecting a floor of one series with the next higher floor of the other series and the other ramp of said pair connecting the said floor of the first series with the next lower floor of the other series, the said floors at the longitudinal vertical dividing plane having edges of zig-zag formation.

4. A building structure comprising outer walls, a series of superposed floors overlying the area within said walls on one side of a longitudinal vertical plane, a second series of superposed floors lyin in planes intermediate the planes of the V rst series of floors and overlying the enclosed area on the opposite side of said longitudinal vertical plane, a vertical series of similar pairs of concentric curved ram s at each end of the building, one ramp 0 each pair connecting the floor of one series with the next higher floor of building extending forwardly in the opgo- 10 site direction from the ram s at the ot er end of the buildin the said oors at the longitudinal vertica dividing plane having edges of zig-zag formation.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto sign 1:!

our names.

HENRY HORNBOSTEL. WILLIAM J. STRASSBURGER. 

